AmiguruMAY 2021: Instagram Challenge for Amigurumi Lovers

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AmiguruMay 2021 is the Instagram challenge for amigurumi lovers. It’s full of daily prompts, a planner and a robust community of makers. The best news is that it’s all FREE!

Are you ready for AmiguruMAY 2021?

For the third year in a row, Ilaria, from Airali Gray, is hosting the popular Instagram challenge. Will you be participating?

What is AmiguruMAY 2021?

AmiguruMAY is the Instagram challenge that has inspired amigurumi makers all around the globe.

First, AmiguruMAY begins with a calendar. Each day for the month of May 2021, contains prompts that guides makers for what to share on Instagram.

Beside each date for the month of May is a word or phrase that tells us what the theme for that day is.

For example, on day 7, the prompt is “Hooks”. You could share a photo of your collection of crochet hooks or maybe just your favorite one for crocheting amigurumi. Maybe you could share a photo or video of you using that crochet hook on a current amigurumi toy you’re working on.

Day 20’s prompt is World Bee day! How fun is that? You could plan ahead and know that by May 20th you will need to have an amigurumi bee made so that you can share it with the AmiguruMAY community (more about that down below).

Find the Zeno the Bumblebee Pattern by Airali Designs here.

Speaking of planning, Airali Gray has created a free planner for AmiguruMAY 2021, which you can download for free here.

Watch the Latest Video

Planning ahead makes AmiguruMAY so much easier. You can work through your downloadable planner so that you can post each day. This is the exact reason why I have failed each year….I fail to plan, so I plan to fail. Lol.

You can even get your posts ready in advance and save them as drafts on Instagram. That way the only thing you need to worry about is pressing that “Share” button.

Do You Have to Post Every Day?

The answer to that question is a resounding…….no.

Participate in AmiguruMAY 2021 as much or as little as you can or want. Each year I do my best to participate and eventually find myself crashing and burning. (Should have printed out that planner last year).

If you can only post once a week, do that. If you can post several times a week, that’s wonderful. And if you can post every single day for the month of May, you are a rockstar, my dear friend.

#amiguruMAY #amiguruMAY2021

Ilaria has created two hashtags so that you can connect with all the other makers participating in AmiguruMAY 2021. Use and follow the hashtags #amiguruMAY and #amiguruMAY2021 to find other amigurumi addicts who are posting their responses to the prompts.

Not only will you find other inspiring makers by using the hashtags, other makers will be able to find you. This is a great way to grow your own Instagram following, if that’s something you’re working on.

Check out my post: How to Grown on Instagram for Makers

Airali Gray – Creator of AmiguruMAY 2021

I’ve been a big fan of Airali Gray for quite some time. Her absolutely adorable amigurumi designs are so unique and enchanting.

When I realized that it was almost time for AmiguruMAY 2021, I knew it was the perfect opportunity to make one of her adorable designs.

Looking through Airali Gray’s free and paid patterns, I fell in love with her Flower Power Hippos. They had me as soon as I saw their cute little faces and round squishy bodies.

Check out Airali’s Free Patterns

In addition to all the free patterns Ilaria offers, she also has some adorable patterns to purchase. Buying a pattern is a wonderful way to support a maker who offers a lot of free content.

Link to Airali Designs Pattern Shop

Patterns: Moon Rabbit, Toucan, Chameleon & Elvie the Elephant

This post contains affiliate links and at no cost to you I may earn a teeny tiny commission if you choose to purchase them. Please know that I only recommend products I use and love! Thank you for supporting Le Petit Saint Crochet! You can read my full (and slightly boring) full disclosure here.

Chenille Yarns

First, I decided I definitely wanted to try using chenille for this project. The actual yarn suggested in the pattern wasn’t available in my area but I found all these squishy alternatives.

Check Out All the Gorgeous Chenille Yarns Here

The Sirdar Happy Chenille looks to be a perfect match.

The soft texture and luxurious touch are perfect for a cute little hippo.

Because I am incredibly impatient and wanted to get the chenille yarn right away, I headed to my local Hobby Lobby. Although I didn’t find exactly what I was looking for, I did find a pretty good alternative.

The Baby Bee Adore-A-Ball is a good alternative to the Sidar Happy Chenille. The only negative is that It is a very sheddy yarn and could be a choking hazard for a small child or baby. But the toy turned out quite cute, in my humble opinion.

I used the colors:

• Flannel (gray for the body)
• Bumblebee Wings (yellow for the T-shirt)
• Pink-a-Boo (pink for the T-shirt)
• Angel (white for the T-shirt)
• Mint Charm (minty green for the T-shirt)

Like many textured yarns, it can be a little difficult to work with at first. Once you get the hang of it and how to see your stitches, the yarn is fun to work with.

Flower Power Hippos

I love that this is a quick and easy pattern. It worked up so fast, in fact, I was a little stunned when I finished an amigurumi toy in record time.

It only took me two evenings to finish my little hippo and her cute striped T-shirt.

I appreciate well written patterns and Airali Gray’s patterns are of the highest quality. They are incredibly clear and have fantastic photos to show the progress.

There are lots of notes so that you feel confident about what you’re making and lots of helpful tips & tricks.

AmiguruMAY 2021

Let me know if you will be participating in AmiguruMAY 2021 this year. I will be doing my best to keep up, but I will for sure be following the hashtags to see all of your wonderful photos and captions.

Happy Stitching!

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